State wrestling: WHS's Kesterson finishes third

With the state championship matches still to come, several area wrestlers secured their medals at the end of the consolation finals Saturday, Feb. 17.

Leading the way was Williamsburg 113-pound senior Grayson Kesterson, who – a year after winning a state championship – ended his Raider career with a third-place finish in Class 2A. Beaten in the semifinals by ADM’s Andrew Flora in a tight 4-3 matchup Friday night, Kesterson bounced back in style, winning his second match of the week over Mount Vernon’s Ryan Clark, this time by a 5-0 score.

Kesterson secured the bronze with a 10-2 major decision win over Monticello’s Kain Luensman. He ends his final year 49-3.

Jalen Schropp finished fifth at 126, while Cavin Malloy finished his comeback bid with a sixth-place medal. Schropp won his final match of the year with a 3-0 win over Atlantic-CAM’s Kole Hanson, while Malloy – who battled back from a first-round loss to win three straight – was pinned in his final match by Osage’s Zach Williams. Schropp finished his sophomore year 51-4, while Malloy – also a senior who wrestled his last high school match – ended 41-10.

Grinnell’s rock Beck ended the week with a sixth-place finish at 113 in Class 2A, falling to Clark in a 6-4 match. Beck is a sophomore who ended 46-8.

Iowa Valley had the only other placewinner in Class 1A prior to Saturday night’s championship finals – Garet Sims goes for the gold at 182 – with Ben Smith ending his sophomore campaign with a 6-3 loss to Ethan Elliot of Interstate 35 of Truro. Smith wrapped up his sophomore campaign 53-6.